Boda Beeramu! Training HIV/AIDS Awareness Champions.

Leaders of Bodaboda Stages attending a training to become HIV/AIDS Awareness Champions for the Boda Beeramu Project in Wakiso district.

The Boda Beeramu project is taking off full blown in Wakiso district. Starting with a training of Bodaboda HIV/AIDS Awareness Champions at Big Zone Entertainment Center in Nansana Municipality recently.

The training largely focused on HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care as well as other Sexually Transmitted Infections and Diseases that make an individual more vulnerable to acquiring HIV. It was Conducted by Timothy Serubiri one of Uganda’s leading health educators on HIV/AIDS and other STD&Is.

There were a lot of controversies that sparked off heated debate during the training. Leading the park was the issue of HIV/AIDS discordancy among couples where the majority of the Bodaboda riders admitted that they would not stay with their partner if they found out that she had HIV/AIDS and they did not. While other said that they would find hard time admitting to their partner that they had the disease if they knew for certain that she did not have it.

Mr Lubowa John a rider from Sserwadda stage showing his peers how to use a male condom during the training.

The group that consisted of Bodaboda stage chairmen and their representatives also woke up the reality that still exists but had somehow been ignored. That is the different STDS and Infections where the trainer showed them heavily graphic photos of people in advanced stages of diseases like syphilis, gonorrhea, genital herpes among others and these visibly invoked fear in everyone present in the room.

One of the Boda riders holding a question card during a Ludo game session at the training.

Towards the ends of the training Public Health Ambassadors took them through a session on how we plan to use the Ludo board game to ignite a conversation about HIV/AIDS among riders at different Bodaboda stages where we plan to distribute the custom made boards.

Musinguzi John PHAU’s Project Officer taking Bodaboda riders through a Ludo game session during the training.

Boda Beeramu is a one year HIV/AIDS awareness project being implemented among Bodaboda riders in Wakiso district with support from MTV Staying Alive.